Till the time I play IPL, I'll not leave RCB: Virat Kohli to AB de Villiers

Image Credits: Twitter/@ICC

At a time when all the sportiing activities across the globe are at halt due to coronavirus pandemic including the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), Indian skipper Virat Kohli has showcased his admiration for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by stating that he is never going to leave the franchise till the time he is playing in the T20 lucrative tournament.

The 31-year-old's comments came during an Instagram live session with former South African skipper and his RCB teammate AB de Villiers.

When De Villiers raised the topic about the RCB, Kohli said that he will never going to play for any other team in any situation in the IPL because of the love and care which the Bangalore-based franchise have shown over these 12 years.

"RCB shared a picture of the first game I played for them. It has been 12 years. It was in 2008 and now it's 2020. It is such an amazing journey. It is so surreal. You have been here 9 years yourself. For a lot of people, it's all about obviously we want to achieve the ultimate goal for RCB. We have come close thrice but haven't made it. That's always gonna be our dream together but I was just thinking there is no way in any scenario that I can ever think of leaving this team. Because of the love and care, the franchise has shown," Kohli said during the chat.

"You can feel emotional about the season going well or not but to have that loyalty with Bangalore, with RCB it has been quite surreal. Till the time I play IPL, regardless of how we play, I am never leaving this team.There is no chance in any situation I am going to play for anyone else ," he added.

Echoing similar views as Kohli, De Villiers--who has been playing for the RCB for nine long years--also expressed his love and admiration as he said that he wants to stay with the Bangalore team for the end number of years to come. 

"Not everyone is as sure of staying in the side as you are. They have certainly been my inspiration for quite a few years now. I never want to leave Bangalore but I know I have to score runs if I wanna stay in the side. That's really pushed me and obviously the fans. Everytime, I look back at playing in IPL or South Africa or any other team for that matter, you think of relationships and friends. You think about special moments, the crowd atmosphere you know. So, those are the kind of things you never wanna give away. I want to be in Bangalore for I dont know how many years to come," de Villiers said.

Kohli and De Villiers were due to represent RCB in the 13th edition of the IPL, which was originally scheduled to take place from March 29 to May 24.However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had postponed the tournament indefinitely earlier this month due to coronavirus.

Notably, RCB are one of the only three teams--the other being Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab--who have never managed to lift the IPL title. The Bangalore-based franchise had made a last-place finish during the 2017 and 2019 edition of the T20 lucrative tournament while their last appearance in the final came in 2016.